February 19
Events * 197 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies. *1594 - Having already inherited the throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth through his mother Catherine Jagellonica of Poland, Sigismund III of the House of Vasa is crowned King of Sweden, succeeding his father John III of Sweden. *1600 - The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina exploded in the most violent eruption in the recorded history of South America. *1674 - England and the Netherlands sign the Peace of Westminster, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War. A provision of the agreement transfers the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to England, which renamed it New York. *1807 - In Alabama, Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason and confined to Fort Stoddart. *1819 - British explorer William Smith discovers the South Shetland Islands, and claims them in the name of King George III. *1846 - In Austin the newly-formed Texas state government is officially installed. The Republic of Texas government officially transfers power to the State of Texas government following Texas' annexation by the United States. *1847 - The Donner Party is rescued. It is noted that some of the survivors seem to be remarkably well-fed considering their ordeal. *1852 - The Phi Kappa Psi fraternity is founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg. *1861 - Serfdom is abolished in Russia. *1864 - Knights of Pythias founded at Washington, DC by Justus H. Rathbone. *1878 - The phonograph is patented by Thomas Edison. *1881 - Kansas became the first U.S. state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages. *1913 - Prizes are included in Cracker Jack candy boxes for the first time. *1915 - World War I: The Battle of Gallipoli began. *1937 - During a public ceremony at the Viceregal Palace (the former Imperial residence) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, two Eritrean nationalists attempt to kill viceroy Rodolfo Graziani with a number of grenades. *1941 - World War II: The Afrika Korps, the corps-level headquarters controlling the German Panzer divisions in North Africa, was formed. *1942 - World War II: nearly 250 Japanese warplanes attack the northern Australian city of Darwin killing 243 people. * 1942 - World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the executive order ''9066'', allowing the United States military to relocate Japanese-Americans to Japanese internment camps the bombing of darwin. *1943 - World War II: Battle of the Kasserine Pass in Tunisia begins. *1945 - World War II: Battle of Iwo Jima - about 30,000 United States Marines land on Iwo Jima. *1949 - Ezra Pound is awarded the first Bollingen Prize in poetry by the Bollingen Foundation and Yale University. *1953 - Censorship: Georgia approves the first literature censorship board in the United States. *1959 - The United Kingdom grants Cyprus its independence, which is then on formally proclaimed on August 16, 1960. *1968 - National Educational Television (the predecessor to the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States) debuts the children's television program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood * 1968 - Egyptian commando forces attempt to intervene in a hijacking situation at Larnaca International Airport, without authorisation from the Republic of Cyprus authorities. The Cypriot National Guard and Police forces kill 15 Egyptian commandos and destroy the Egyptian C-130 transport plane in open combat. *1982 - Maiden flight of Boeing 757 *1985 - Artificial heart patient William J. Schroeder becomes the first such patient to leave hospital. * 1985 - Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 crashes into Mount Oiz in Spain, killing 148. * 1985 - EastEnders first airs on televisions across the United Kingdom, on the first night of a major identity change for BBC1. *1986 - The Soviet Union launches the Mir space station. *1999 - Official dedication and unveiling of the cornerstone at Air Canada Centre. *2001 - An Oklahoma City bombing museum is dedicated at the Oklahoma City National Memorial. *2002 - NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system. *2004 - Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal is awarded an honorary knighthood in recognition of a "lifetime of service to humanity." *2006 - The Rolling Stones made the largest show open to the public of the world in Copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 1.3 million people went to the show. *2007 - Three Salvadoran deputies to the Central American Parliament and their driver are murdered in Guatemala. Births *1473 - Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer (d. 1543) *1526 - Charles de L'Ecluse, Flemish botanist (d. 1609) *1552 - Melchior Klesl, Austrian cardinal and statesman (d. 1630) *1630 - Shivaji, founder of the Maratha Empire (d. 1680) *1660 - Friedrich Hoffmann, German physician and chemist (d. 1742) *1717 - David Garrick, British actor (d. 1779) *1722 - Tiphaigne de la Roche, French writer (d. 1774) *1743 - Luigi Boccherini, Italian composer (d. 1805) *1780 - Richard McCarty, American politician (d. 1844) *1802 - Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, Swiss Federal Councillor (d. 1881) *1804 - Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky, German physician (d. 1878) * 1804 - David Wark, Canadian politician (d. 1905) *1821 - August Schleicher, German linguist (d. 1868) *1833 - Élie Ducommun, Swiss journalist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1906) *1859 - Svante Arrhenius, Swedish chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1927) *1865 - Sven Hedin, Swedish explorer (d. 1952) *1876 - Constantin Brancusi, Romanian sculptor (d. 1957) *1877 - Gabriele Münter, German painter (d. 1962) *1880 - Alvaro Obregon, Mexican president (d. 1928) *1888 - José Eustasio Rivera, Colombian writer (d. 1928) *1893 - Sir Cedric Hardwicke, British actor (d. 1964) *1895 - Louis Calhern, American actor (d. 1956) *1897 - Alma Rubens, American actress (d. 1931) *1899 - Yury Olesha, Russian novelist (d. 1960) *1900 - Giorgos Seferis, Greek poet, Nobel laureate (d. 1971) *1902 - Kay Boyle, American writer (d. 1992) *1904 - Havank, Dutch writer (d. 1964) *1911 - Merle Oberon, British actress (d. 1979) *1912 - Saul Chaplin, American composer (d. 1997) *1913 - Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza, pretender to the Brazilian throne *1914 - Jacques Dufilho, French comedian (d. 2005) *1916 - Eddie Arcaro, American jockey (d. 1997) *1917 - Carson McCullers, American author (d. 1967) *1920 - C. Z. Guest, American socialite (d. 2003) * 1920 - Jaan Kross, Estonian writer * 1920 - George Rose, British music hall entertainer (d. 1988) *1924 - David Bronstein, Ukrainian chess player (d. 2006) * 1924 - Lee Marvin, American actor (d. 1987) * 1924 - Bruce Norris, American ice hockey executive (d. 1986) *1929 - Jacques Deray, French film director (d. 2003) *1930 - John Frankenheimer, American film director (d. 2002) *1934 - Carole Eastman, American screenwriter (d. 2004) *1936 - Sam Myers, American musician and songwriter (d. 2006) * 1936 - Marin Sorescu, Romanian writer and novelist (d. 1997) *1937 - Robert "Bilbo" Walker Jr., American blues guitarist *1940 - Saparmurat Niyazov, President of Turkmenistan (d. 2006) * 1940 - Smokey Robinson, American singer *1941 - David Gross, American physicist, Nobel laureate *1942 - Paul Krause, American football player *1943 - Lou Christie, American singer * 1943 - Homer Hickam, American author and retired NASA engineer * 1943 - Tim Hunt, British biochemist, Nobel laureate *1945 - Michael Nader, American actor *1946 - Paul Dean, Canadian guitarist (Loverboy) * 1946 - Peter Hudson, Australian rules footballer * 1946 - Karen Silkwood, American activist (d. 1974) *1947 - Tim Shadbolt, mayor of Invercargill *1948 - Mark Andes, American musician * 1948 - Pim Fortuyn, Dutch politician (d. 2002) * 1948 - Tony Iommi, British musician (Black Sabbath) * 1948 - Big John Studd, American professional wrestler (d. 1995) *1949 - Dan Bunten, American software developer (d. 1998) *1950 - Andy Powell, British musician *1951 - Stephen Nichols, American actor * 1951 - Tahir-ul-Qadri, Pakistani Islamic scholar *1952 - Amy Tan, American novelist * 1952 - Rodolfo Neri Vela, Mexican astronaut *1953 - Massimo Troisi, Italian actor (d. 1994) * 1953 - Cristina Elisabet Fernández - Argentinian politician *1954 - Socrates, Brazilian footballer *1955 - Jeff Daniels, American actor *1956 - Kathleen Beller, American actress * 1956 - Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist, Nobel laureate *1957 - Falco, Austrian singer (d. 1998) * 1957 - Ray Winstone, British actor *1960 - Andrew * 1960 - Leslie Ash, English actress *1961 - Justin Fashanu, English footballer (d. 1998) * 1961 - Andy Wallace, English race car driver *1962 - Hana Mandlíková, Czech tennis player * 1962 - John Laroche, American orchid poacher *1963 - Laurell K. Hamilton, American writer * 1963 - Seal, English singer *1964 - Dmitri Lipskerov, Russian writer * 1964 - Sonu Walia, Indian actress *1966 - Justine Bateman, American actress * 1966 - Paul Haarhuis, Dutch tennis player * 1966 - Enzo Scifo, Belgian footballer *1967 - Benicio del Toro, Puerto Rican actor *1969 - Burton C. Bell, American vocalist *1971 - Miguel Batista, Dominican baseball player * 1971 - Gil Shaham, Israeli/American violinist *1972 - Francine, American professional wrestler *1974 - Danny Doring, American professional wrestler *1975 - Mikko Kavén, Finnish footballer * 1975 - Katja Schuurman, Dutch actress and singer * 1975 - Daewon Song, Korean professional skateboarder *1977 - Ola Salo, Swedish singer (The Ark) * 1977 - Gianluca Zambrotta, Italian footballer *1978 - Michalis Konstantinou, Greek-Cypriot footballer * 1978 - Immortal Technique, American rapper *1979 - Mariska, Finnish rapper * 1979 - Clinton Morrison, Irish footballer * 1979 - Mariana Ochoa, Mexican singer and actress *1980 - Neleh Dennis, American Survivor contestant * 1980 - Mike Miller, American basketball player *1981 - Ronnie Arniell, Canadian professional wrestler * 1981 - Beth Ditto, American singer (The Gossip) * 1981 - Gil Reyes, American boxer * 1981 - Nicky Shorey, English footballer * 1981 - Vitas, Russian singer *1983 - Mika Nakashima, Japanese singer/actress *1984 - Chris Richardson, American Idol finalist *1985 - Haylie Duff, American singer/actress *1986 - Reon Kadena, Japanese model/actress * 1986 - Henri Karjalainen, Finnish racing driver * 1986 - Maria Mena, Norwegian singer * 1986 - Marta, Brazilian footballer *1993 - Victoria Justice, American actress Deaths * 197 - Clodius Albinus, Roman governor of Britain *1133 - Irene Ducaena, wife of Alexius I Comnenus (b. 1066) *1553 - Erasmus Reinhold, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1511) *1589 - Saint Philothei, Orthodox martyr and Patron of Athens (b. 1522) *1605 - Orazio Vecchi, Italian composer (b. 1550) *1602 - Philippe Emmanuel, French soldier (b. 1558) *1620 - Roemer Visscher, Dutch writer (b. 1547) *1622 - Sir Henry Savile, English educator (b. 1549) *1653 - Luigi de Rossi, Italian composer (b. 1597) *1663 - Adam Adami, German bishop and diplomat (b. 1603) *1670 - King Frederick III of Denmark (b. 1609) *1672 - Charles Chauncy, English-born president of Harvard College (b. 1592) *1709 - Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shogun (b. 1646) *1716 - Dorthe Engelbrechtsdatter, Norwegian poet (b. 1634) *1789 - Nicholas Van Dyke, American lawyer and President of Delaware (b. 1738) *1799 - Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, political scientist, and sailor (b. 1733) *1806 - Elizabeth Carter, English writer (b. 1717) *1837 - Georg Büchner, German playwright (b. 1813) *1873 - Vasil Levski, Bulgarian revolutionary (b. 1837) *1887 - Multatuli, Dutch writer (b. 1820) *1897 - Karl Weierstraß, German mathematician (b. 1815) *1916 - Ernst Mach, Austrian-Czech physicist and philosopher (b. 1838) *1927 - Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer (b. 1847) *1936 - Billy Mitchell, American general and military aviation pioneer (b. 1879) * 1936 - Max Schreck, German actor (b. 1879) * 1936 - Charles Harding Firth, British historian (b. 1857) *1942 - Frank Abbandando, American gangster (executed) (b. 1910) *1951 - André Gide, French writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1869) *1952 - Knut Hamsun, Norwegian author, Nobel laureate (b. 1859) *1957 - Maurice Garin, French cyclist (b. 1871) *1962 - Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek doctor, inventor of the Pap smear (b. 1883) *1968 - Georg Hackenschmidt, Estonian professional wrestler (b. 1878) *1969 - Madge Blake, American actress (b. 1899) *1972 - John Grierson, Scottish documentary filmmaker (b. 1898) * 1972 - Tedd Pierce, American animator (b. 1906) *1973 - Joseph Szigeti, Hungarian violinist (b. 1892) * 1973 - Kostas Negrepontis, Greek footballer (b. 1897) *1975 - Luigi Dallapiccola, Italian composer (b. 1904) *1977 - Mike González, Cuban baseball player (b. 1890) * 1977 - Anthony Crosland, British politician (b. 1918) *1980 - Bon Scott, Australian musician and singer for the band AC/DC (b. 1946) *1983 - Alice White, American film actress (b. 1904) *1986 - Adolfo Celi, Italian actor (b. 1922) *1988 - André Frédéric Cournand, French-born physician, Nobel laureate (b. 1895) *1994 - Derek Jarman, British film director (b. 1942) *1996 - Antonio Creus, Spanish racecar driver (b. 1924) * 1996 - Charles O. Finley, American sports entrepreneur (b. 1918) *1997 - Deng Xiaoping, Chinese Communist leader and revolutionary (b. 1904) * 1997 - Leo Rosten, American Yiddish writer and humorist (b. 1908) *1998 - John Acheson, British actor * 1998 - Grandpa Jones, American entertainer (b. 1913) *1999 - Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr, Iraqi Shiite leader (assassinated) *2000 - Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian artist (b. 1928) *2001 - Priscilla Davis, American socialite (b. 1942) * 2001 - Stanley Kramer, American director (b. 1913) * 2001 - Charles Trenet, French singer (b. 1913) *2003 - Johnny PayCheck, American singer (b. 1938) *2007 - Janet Blair, American actress (b. 1921) * 2007 - Celia Franca, founder of National Ballet of Canada (b. 1921) Holidays and observances *Chaoflux (Discordianism) *Astrology: First day of sun sign Pisces *Astrology: Can also be last day of sun sign Aquarius depending on the time of birth and the astrologer's viewpoint. *February 19 External links *BBC: On This Day * *On This Day in Canada ---- Category:February Category:Discordian holidays